Scorpion Solitaire Strategy Guide
Scorpion is the solitaire where you may pick up any card and carry everything on top of it, in order or not. Seven columns, twelve hidden cards and a three-card stock are the whole puzzle, and you build four King-to-Ace suit runs. Most random deals cannot be won, so careful planning matters. This guide covers what to move first, how to use empty columns and when to deal the stock.
Opening principles
Seven columns of seven cards are dealt. In the first four columns the first three cards are face down, so twelve cards are hidden, and three cards wait in the stock. You build down by suit, and you need all four suits from King to Ace. Whenever a column ends with a full King-to-Ace run of one suit, it leaves the table.
- List the moves first. A card can only go on the card of its own suit that is one rank higher, so each face-up card has at most one place to go (a King may also go into an empty column). Find all of them before you move.
- Prefer moves that turn a hidden card. Each flip shows a new card and new options.
- Remember the group move. Any face-up card moves with everything on top of it, in order or not, so a messy column is not a blocked one.
Using empty columns
Only a King, or a group that starts with a King, can go into an empty column, so a free column is worth little unless a King can use it.
- Empty a column when a King is available. A King that sits in the middle of a column can be carried into the space together with everything below it.
- Do not rush to empty. If no King can take the space, an empty column may stay empty for a long time.
- Kings at the start of a column are good. A King there never has to move again, and its suit run can grow on it.
Using the stock
The stock has three cards and is dealt only once, onto the first three columns. You can deal at any time, but the cards cover whatever is at the end of those columns.
- Finish your useful moves first. After the deal the three columns are longer and the cards you wanted may be covered.
- Check the three end cards. If a column ends with a card you still want to move, dealing covers it.
- Dealing can finish a run. If a column ends with a suit run down to the 2 and the Ace is the card dealt onto it, the run completes and leaves the table.
Common mistakes
- Dealing the stock too early. It covers the ends of three columns. Undo can take it back, but the plan is better made before.
- Building on the wrong suit. A 6 does not go on a 7 of another suit; a card only fits its own suit.
- Forgetting that Aces end a run. Nothing can be placed on an Ace, so an Ace in the middle of a column has to be moved together with the cards on top of it.
- Covering a card you need. Before moving a group onto a column, look at what it covers.
- Playing on after the deal is lost. Most Scorpion deals cannot be won; when no move helps, start again.
Advanced techniques
- Plan the order of suits. Finish the suit whose King is already at the start of a column first; its cards leave the table and free the others.
- Use moves that look like detours. Moving a group onto a column just to uncover a hidden card is often worth it, because the group can be moved again later.
- Carry a long group. Carrying a long stack with a messy tail can be the only way to reach a card at the bottom.
- Use Undo and the Solver. Undo lets you try another plan for free, and the Solver in the menu tells you whether the current position can still be won.
How winnable are the deals?
Most random Scorpion deals cannot be won. In our screening, the solver proved about 12% of 12,000 random deals winnable within its search limit (1,404 deals). That figure is a lower bound, because a limited search can miss lines. New games and the Daily Challenge only use those deals, so a winning line always exists, but the set is small and you may see repeats. The solver sees the hidden cards and the stock, and you do not, so winnable does not mean easy.
Practice and play
Play a few deals with one habit: before every move, list where each face-up card could go and prefer the move that turns a hidden card. You will see how often the best move is not the first one you spot.